Warning as ‘e-waste’ levels rise

There was 41.8 million tonnes of “e-waste”, ranging from washing machines to mobile phones in 2014 – containing an estimated £35 billion in resources such as gold, silver and copper, as well as toxins including ozone layer-depleting gases and mercury.

But just 6.5 million tonnes was sent to proper recycling, reuse or treatment systems, the Global E-Waste Monitor compiled by the United Nations University (UNU) think tank found.